Kathleen Donnelly is the new the chair of the Midwest Regional Section. She replaced Ann Archbold who has resigned due to time commitments. According to the Section bylaws, the Vice Chair takes over if the Chair can not serve.

Ms. Donnelly was both Vice Chair and the Section’s Chair-Elect so was already in line to assume to higher office.

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Delbert Unruh will be the kickoff speaker for the Heart of America Regional Section’s Fall Workshops & Mini Expo September 11 to 12 at the Lied Center, University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.

His presentation is "Exploring and Documenting the changing perceptions of space in theatrical design.” Mr. Unruh, professor of scenography and author of The Designs of Ming Cho Lee, The Designs of Tharon Musser, and most recently The Designs of Jules Fisher, will be the featured speaker Friday evening.

Saturday will include a USITT/ The ESTA Foundation joint training workshop on rigging covering establishing an inspection record, and Richard Wolpert of Union Connector discussing theatre electricity safe working practices. Additional workshop topics include costumes led by Ashley Bellet of University of Tulsa; adapting other technologies for theatre by Ed Baker of Wichita State University; and a tour of Kansas University's Lied Center. Several regional vendors will also be represented at a mini expo. More information and registration material is available at www.usittheartofamerica.com.

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The Southwest Regional Section will hold its Fall 2009 Labor Day Symposium, TechXperience Weekend, September 5 to 6 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Events will be held at the Stage Center Theatre in the Arts District of downtown OKC, and at Oklahoma City University.

Workshops include: Men’s Tailoring with Kristina Hanssen and George Curry; Scene Painting with Jenny Knott and Heidi Hoffer; Theatre Architecture tours with Jack Hagler; Moving Lights & Ion demo with Eric Marsh; Color Theory and design by Joe Tawil; Designing for Outdoor Theatre; and more. The keynote speaker will be Robert Benedetti, Lighting Designer, Emmy winning director, producer, and author. His address will be about the director/designer relationship. There also will be a Professional Design Exhibition that is open to all Regional members.

As USITT National celebrates its 50th anniversary, the Southwest Regional Section will turn 40 years old. The Section will kick off its 40th year during the TechXperience. During the symposium there will be opportunities to see three local productions: Death of a Salesman at the Pollard Theatre, Twelfth Night at Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park, and Compleat Female at the Stage Center.

Registration is $5 for student members and $20 for regular members. For more information, check out www.usitt-sw.org.

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The Northern Boundary Regional Section will hold its Fall Regional Meeting September 18 and 19 at the Rarig Center in the West Bank Arts Quarter at the University of Minnesota and the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. The event is hosted by University of Minnesota Department of Theatre and Dance students and staff.

Events include: Cover the Walls, a chance for all to exhibit design work; a barbecue dinner Friday evening; Northern Boundary Membership meeting; bowling at Memory Lanes;workshop sessions Saturday; and a wrap-up session where Design Awards will be announced.

Go online for a detailed daily schedule.

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